Category Archives: Art

Aug 13 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, United States

Hustle (2022).

Formulaic but brilliant, this demonstrates Adam Sandler’s considerable acting chops even better than Punch Drunk Love (2002) or Uncut Gems (2019), because this character is more complex, and dare I say it, multi-layered.

I know fuck all about basketball. I don’t get it. I find it dull. This made the sport interesting.

It’s the central relationship which is the heart, an initial association of convenience which ultimately goes beyond the professional. It wasn’t Mickey and Rocky but it aped that well.

Nothing special here but good enough, a proper movie with no pretensions; it knows what it is.

And it comes with obligatory mental training montage.

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Jul 30 2022
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Art, Cinema, Crime, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022).

Even operatic in moments, this is beyond the ridiculous and enters into the realm of the post-surreal. I suppose one could call it a treatise on acting. Or just a Cage-Fest.

It’s simply … the most Cage that Cage has ever been. 

Which is a good thing. 

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Jul 23 2022
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Architecture, Art, Cinema, Crime, Fantasy, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

The Batman (2022).

The definite article annoys me. I don’t like it. At all. Anyway, the movie:

It’s all very well designed and shot. The music choices, from Nirvana to what sounds like a variation of ‘The Imperial March’ from The Empire Strikes Back (1980), are inspired, and a car chase respectfully lifted/stolen from To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) works as well as anything in the Batman canon.

You get to see the lad actually doing detective work, and the role of that nefarious news media we all know, think we need, and varyingly hate is given proper weight in the narrative. It drags a wee bit towards the end, but that’s to be expected with this fare. It’s … interesting. Not bad at all.

And Andy Serkis is a fabulous actor. He’ll most likely be canonised for Gollum and a raging gorilla, but he’s just as good as a human. Most actors are garbage yet succeed because of market forces. The bloke with the Gollum voice needs a leading role. 

If Seagal can make it, Gollum can. 

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Jul 20 2022
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Art, Cinema, Crime, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized, United States

The Last Seduction (1994).

What a cracker this is!

Bill Pullman just disappeared for a decade and a half, but here he is in his prime, a remnant from the James Stewart acting school of nonchalance. He really should have graduated to the role of troubled leading man, a jaded cop or something.

One would deem this an archetypal neo-noir, but your femme fatale here is the protagonist for once. The multi-faceted, polymathic, boozing, smoking, shagging, utterly obscenely ridiculous Linda Fiorentino running rings around every idiot she meets.

Marry me?

We also have J.T. Walsh and his sleazy voice.

And a jazz soundtrack that doesn’t feel like a desperate bolt-on feature.

Riot of a film.

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Jun 29 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized, United States

Jarhead (2005).

Jarhead (2005) is one of most visually unmemorable good movies ever. It all looks lovely but entirely anonymous, solid craftsmanship rather than the captivating. I can’t recall a single striking shot; the poster leaves more of an impression than any of the images. Maybe this is the point – capturing the monotony of war. But is war really this boring? A dozen other movies say no.

It’s quite the riot, though, for the first hour, lots of lolz and a frenetic pace, an atmosphere that builds up to something that … never really happens. The early promise peters out and you just get repetition. Once again this may be the point. But what’s the point? This is a war movie, not an episode of Seinfeld. Watch Three Kings (1999) instead. It’s about something.

And Chris Cooper’s high billing for this annoyed me. He is barely in it and leaves little impression other than a weak imitation of Robert Duvall’s Colonel Kilgore.

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Jun 23 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies

Hail, Caesar! (2016).

Hail, Caesar! (2016) feels both enamoured with and contemptuous of post-war ’50s Hollywood, revelling in the sleaze and skulduggery behind the charade as a nostalgia piece, whilst also informing us that it’s still how the edifice operates.

Eddie Mannix is flatteringly portrayed by Josh Brolin as a reluctant fixer plagued by Catholic guilt, but it works because of the sharks swimming around him. Brolin excels at these roles, capturing just the right combination of the smarmy and the sentimental. It’s a loose telling of events, as anything deeper would result in a murkier film.

As a pure comedy, it’s very funny. And every Hobie Doyle scene is hilarious. A snippet:

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Jun 18 2022
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Art

The Guard (2011) is a majestic experience.

Every line of dialogue in this is funny, and the lines have a purpose. Not a single sentence is wasted. I’m reminded of a David Mamet play, but with a cinematic sensibility (a David Mamet film, then). It’s the chemistry between the two leads, however, which really makes the movie, the Don Cheadle’s grudging and then growing respect of the seemingly nonchalant Sergeant Boyle, who is way smarter than he looks and acts. “You know, I can’t tell if you’re really motherfuckin’ dumb or really motherfuckin’ smart.”

And the villains. Such banter:

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Jun 08 2022
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Art, Britain, Television, TV, TV series

House of Cards (UK). What a ride!

Well, it wasn’t quite up there with the first two seasons of the Kevin Spacey bad boys (may his career rest in peace), but this was glorious at times. And one has to take into account it’s a BBC serial from 1990. Those were shoddy days for quality drama.

Ian Richardson has a certain … magnetism about him. He defines Machiavellian.

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Jun 03 2022
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Art, Britain, Film, Movie

The King (2019). I’m glad I viewed it again.

And it was only for this truly sincere and transcendental line from Henry V’s won-from-Agincourt bride: “All monarchy is illegitimate; you, yourself, are the son of a usurper.”

Incredible. True. Brilliant.

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May 28 2022
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Art, Cinema, Film, Movie, Movies, Uncategorized

Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut (2004). Why, oh why?

I’ve always said that Donnie Darko (2001) is a tad overrated, and its soundtrack a big role in the movie’s appeal. However, it is a very good motion picture, one with just the right amount of ambiguity and tension to keep it captivating all the way to the end credits. It balances so many different genres and themes, that for a first-time director its remarkable.

Imagine my horror upon accidentally watching the ‘Director’s Cut’. Verily, I was mortified. It started from the get-go, Echo & the Bunnymen’s ‘The Killing Moon’ replaced by INXS’ ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ for the iconic bike ride home. Initially, I thought I was in the throes of one of these ‘fan edits’ that do the rounds. But nah, these are conscious, completely sober adjustments made by the director. Even worse, the bloke inserts title cards before or after confusing (for some) scenes, explaining what is happening.

He can of course do whatever he wants with his own creation, but come on, man. I can’t think of a single reason why the bloke would commit this (art) crime other than boredom or an addiction to needless tinkering. Anyway, I’ll forgive him once I view the only version again.

And that’s that.

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